The crypto world is full of potential with search engine giant Google amping up the sector through its Google crypto investments portfolio.
Google's interest in the sector is not new. It recently hired former PayPal executive Arnold Goldberg to formulate plans to expand the Google crypto payment division. However, an official announcement is yet to be made.
In a post by Blockdata, it revealed Google's parent company Alphabet has invested nearly $1.5 billion in various blockchain startups. Here's a closer look.
Google has invested $1.5bn into blockchain companies
The blog post further revealed how Alphabet has invested nearly $1.5 billion in blockchain-related startups and companies.
Per the report, the company has primarily invested money in four blockchain-related companies. These include digital asset custody platform Fireblocks, Web3 gaming company Dapper Labs, Bitcoin infrastructure tool Voltage, and venture capital platform Digital Currency Group.
As compared to Google's initial investment deals made in 2021, the current metrics portray a vast distinction considering the firm had earlier invested $601 million across 17 blockchain companies and firms.
While Alphabet has emerged as the topmost contender when it comes to diverse blockchain investments, asset management company Blackrock comes second in terms of blockchain investments. Banking corporation Morgan Stanley stood third as per the report. South Korean Electronics giant Samsung held its ground as the fourth largest entity to have invested in the blockchain sector.
Does Google own any crypto?
With the mounting investments of Google in the blockchain sector, users can't help but wonder whether Google owns any cryptocurrency.
According to Alphabet's CEO Sundar Pichai, Google does look forward to blockchain investments, but he did not disclose if Google owns any crypto itself. He said:
We are definitely looking at blockchain. it’s such an interesting and powerful technology with broad applications.
We'll have to wait and see how Google evolves and diversifies its crypto and blockchain investments.
Outside of Google, several other major companies have expanded support for crypto, with Instagram adding support for NFTs, and people wondering about the fabled Amazon Digital Currency.